Where there’s a will, there’s a way, unless there is a dispute underlying the estate and the will! Kavita Rana from local solicitors Edwards Duthie Shamash explains
When a person dies, their estate is administered in accordance with their wishes in the will. If the deceased does not have a will and dies intestate, the intestacy rules govern the distribution of the estate. So, where does this leave you?
Contesting a will
There are a number of grounds to contest a will. It may be that the deceased did not have the relevant mental capacity to understand their decisions at the time the will was signed. A failure to satisfy this test could result in the will being invalid.
It is important that any lawyer advising on the will checks whether the person making it understands the consequences of their actions and is of sound mind. This could lead to a claim if not.
A will can also be overturned for undue influence. For example, if the deceased was pressured, forced or coerced into making the will or the content of it, this may give rise to an action to declare the will invalid.
What if an individual feels they have been inadequately provided for in a will?
This might lead to a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The law allows dependents to apply to the courts for reasonable financial provision from the estate where there is inadequate provision in the will. The court’s award will depend very much on the individual facts surrounding dependency.
What if the deceased made a promise to provide property for an individual, but the will fails to make the bequest?
If an individual relied on the deceased’s assurance of property and acted to his detriment as a result, the courts have jurisdiction to enforce the promise and order that the property be transferred from the estate to the individual, even if the will does not provide for this. For example, in the case of Gee vs Gee (2018), the court found in favour of a son who was cut out of a promised inheritance of farmland after his father transferred the asset to his other son.
How was the will signed?
There are grounds to challenge a will depending on how the will was signed. This depends on who the witnesses to the will were, how many witnesses were present for the will signing and who was present when the will was signed (to name but a few crucial grounds). If the will was not executed properly, this could be an automatic ground to declare the will invalid.
Edwards Duthie Shamash is located at 149 High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL. For more information, call 020 8514 9000 or visit edwardsduthieshamash.co.uk
